Musical-instrument construction



July 2 1929. w 1.719.680

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT CONSTRUCTION Filed March 25; 1926 attow a} o Patented July 2, 1929.

UNITED STATES JAMES LUCK WARNER,

PATENT OFFICE.

OF TULSA, OKLAHOMA.

MUSICAL-INSTRUMEN '1'. CONSTRUCTION.

Application filed March 25, 1926. Serial No. 97,331.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in the construction of the vibrating body portions of musical instruments such as violins and other stringed instruments, pipes and the like, sounding boards, amplifying horns and the like. Heretofore it has been the practice to make the sounding or vibrating mediums of thin wood, thereby sacrificing strength of construction.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a means whereby the walls of the instrument usually depended upon for vibrating can be made of much thicker material than heretofore used without, however, interfering with the proper vibration thereof when reacting to the vibration of the strings or reeds of the instrument.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed may be made within the scope ofwhat is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings,

Figure 1 is a transverse section through the body portion of a violin constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged section through a portion of the back of the instrument.

Figure 3 is a transverse section through a portion of a violin body showing a modified construction.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates a portion of a violin body. Ordinarily the back and the top or belly of the instrument are each formed of a piece of wood of sufficient thickness to properly vibrate while the instrument is being used. Because of the thinness of the material the instrument can be injured easily. In the present instance these portions of the instrument are formed of material much thicker than that commonly used and,

in order to render the parts properly responsive to the vibrations of the strings or other sounding elements a series of intersecting grooves 2 is provided in the inner or concealcd surface of the instrument, these grooves being close together and leaving between them and the outer or exposed surface of the wall a thickness of material equal to or less than that of the walls usually employed. In Figure 1 the grooves 2 have been shown in the back3 of a violin, these grooves being disposed at right angles. It is to be understood, however, that they can be arranged at angles other than those shown and, as illustrated in Figure 3, the grooves can be circular, the circles being of different diameters but all merging. In said figure the circular grooves have been illustrated at 4. Inevery instance intersecting grooves must be provided, however, as this arrangement of grooves not only produces the advantageous result heretofore pointed out but also allows the wood to be easily bent in any direction to give the desired contour to the outer surface thereof.

While this invention has been shown combined with the body of a violin, it is to be understood that the same or any other arrangements of intersecting grooves cangbe used with other stringed instruments, and the back faces of the sounding boards of pianos, in the outer faces of amplifying horns, in the inner or outer faces of reed instruments, and in fact in connection with any type of instrument having a. body portion designed to vibrate and respond to the vibrations set up by the sounding elements.

What is claimed is:

A musical instrument of the violin type 90 having the inner surface of one wall thereof formed with intersecting grooves, said wall being of abnormal thickness between the grooves bendable along certain of the grooves, the said grooves also constituting 9 means for making the abnormally thick wall responsive to the vibrations of the sounding unit of the instrument. 7

I11 testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto. affixed my signa- 0 ture.

JAMES LUCK W'ARNEB. 

